HC Deb 22 June 1950 vol 476 cc1466-7
43. Sir H. Lucas-Tooth

asked the Minister of Health what is the cost for any convenient area of advertising in the Press for vacancies on hospital staffs.

Mr. Bevan

The total cost during 1949–50 for all non-teaching hospitals in England and Wales was, approximately, £500,000.

Sir H. Lucas-Tooth

Does not the right hon. Gentleman think it a very large sum for him to pay to newspaper proprietors? Is he not aware that, in many cases, these advertisements are almost duplications of one another with, perhaps, one word changed?

Mr. Bevan

I have already called the attention of regional hospital boards to my view that this is an excessive sum, but it must be remembered that when the service was being built up very large numbers of additional domestic servants were being recruited for the hospitals, and that advertising was necessary for that purpose.

Sir Herbert Williams

Has the Minister thought of using the Ministry of Labour for this purpose?

Mr. Bevan

It is necessary that workers should be informed that vacancies exist. For two or three years I was being pressed to increase the employment of domestic staffs in hospitals, and we succeeded in doing this. This is one of the ways of doing it.